


The Healer and the Auror

by lumos2503



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst with a Happy Ending, Auror Harry Potter, Cooking, Emergency room, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Lovers, Falling In Love, Healer Draco Malfoy, Healing, Idiots in Love, Kitchen Sex, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Manbun Harry Potter, Masturbation, Masturbation in Shower, Nightmares, Smut, St Mungo's Hospital, Table Sex, Tattooed Harry Potter, Vibrators, Yoga, blowjob
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-12 20:08:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18017603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumos2503/pseuds/lumos2503
Summary: Draco Malfoy, our all-time-favourite Slytherin, is now 24 years old and has managed to get an apprenticeship as a healer at St. Mungo. The time after the war was certainly not easy, no Sir, but Draco is a fighter and has earned a good reputation in the hospital.But when he is assigned to the emergency room, the routine is over... Because a certain injury-prone, black-haired Auror comes by more often than he would like... Why has Draco never noticed how good the hero of the wizarding world looks?





	1. Foreword

**Author's Note:**

> Hello drarry-loving people! Welcome to my first English fanfiction :) I was thinking very hard about translating my works and now I finally pulled through! (If anyone wants to read this mess in German, feel free to comment or text me)
> 
> This stuff is not beta-ed and so it's all of my own fault! Don't tell me I didn't warn you :D
> 
> So now have fun with this story about my two baby boys ♥  
> It's starts with a foreword to get you all in the right modd and the first chapter will follow right behind :)

**Foreword**

 

The story takes place about 6-7 years after the battle. Draco Malfoy, our favourite Slytherin is 24 years old now and has just finished his training as a healer in St. Mungo. The time after the war was not easy for him. 5 months he had sat in Askaban and waited for his hearing. Meanwhile his father was sentenced. And Draco could not blame the magical society. Even though he had not fought in the end and had remained rather forced in the ranks of the Death Eaters, his deeds had been so severe that he had been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Draco did not miss him very much. The change of heart that had brought him to his senses since he was 17 years old was also accompanied by a strong feeling of aversion to his father and his madness of power, pure blood and black magic.

Draco's mother was acquitted before the wizard gamot. Harry Potter had testified for her in this lengthy process and told how she had saved his life and lied to Lord Voldemort at the most crucial moment. Draco couldn't help but be eternally grateful to Harry Potter, Harry Potter of all people. In contrast to his father, he loved his mother, who had always been a very gentle and loving woman, who had only got into the wrong circles and the wrong family.

Draco himself was not sent to Azkaban either. Again Harry Potter made a decisive contribution. A contribution so decisive that it made Draco dizzy when he thought of it. Instead of Azkaban, he had been sent to St. Mungo to serve the magical community. And indeed, after a few weeks of emptying bedpans and cleaning operating theatres, a master healer recognized Draco's enormous potential and allowed him to start a proper apprenticeship after the year of community service if he wanted to. And Draco wanted! Finally he would be able to show the world who he really was and what he could do!

It was certainly not easy for him to regain a foothold in the magical community. He was a Malfoy, a former Death Eater, not uninvolved in the suffering of many. But Draco fought. He fought and cried and fought on. It was tiring and exhausting, but in the meantime he had found a second family in St. Mungo. One who loved and admired him for what he did now. For his skill in dealing with patients, his enormous knowledge of healing potions and tinctures, his sensitivity and his charm and wit.

Draco had finally settled. Sure, he had his bigger and smaller problems with his past every so often, but he had survived. The strict, violent patriarchy of his father, the moods of his aunt Bellatrix, living with Death Eaters and the most powerful black wizard in recent history, and a war that still today frightened him in some nights bathed in sweat.

 

**But Draco was still there - and he was better than ever.**


	2. Like blowing up a balloon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So now it all starts... 
> 
> Draco, the emergency room, and a surprising encounter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be gentle with me, it's my first work :D  
> And I'm dying to hear, what you guys think (Yes, I'm a whore for your appreciation)

**Like blowing up a balloon**

 

Draco Malfoy was excited. His training was over, he had passed all his exams with top marks and his master healer, mentor and fatherly friend Albert Jenkins had solemnly handed him his diploma a week ago. And now he should come to his first real department. Of course he had gone through all possible wards in his training, had entered almost every field of healing and had learned so much that his head nearly burst on some evenings, but now the time of grace was over. It was Monday and the new class of healers, with Draco 8 more young witches and wizards, were to be assigned to their new positions.

So now Draco nervously bounced on the tips of his feet and waited in the training room for his name to be called.

"Malfoy, Draco!"

"Here, Sir," the former Slytherin answered and raised a hand.

"I know that your specialty is potions and poisonings," explained the head of the training program.

"Yes, yes, yes..." Draco thought and internally crossed his fingers for himself.

"But first we will accommodate you in the emergency room. A healer on maternity leave left us and we urgently need a suitable follow-up. Well, well, boy, don't look so abashed. I wouldn't have chosen you for this position if I wouldn’t be sure that you could master that!”

Draco tried to recapture his briefly slipped facial features and cleared his throat. "Yes, of course... thank you, Sir."

He felt a warm hand patting his back discretely. He looked to Katherine on his left, who looked at him with her gullible doggy eyes. Draco just shrugged his shoulders and bent his back a little to escape the touch. At least in the emergency room he would escape this clingy nag.

After the meeting, the young healers made their way to their wards. Draco took the elevator down to the ground floor and directly behind the door of the emergency room he was welcomed by a resolute but good-natured looking master healer with short black and white hair.

"Oh, Mr. Malfoy! There you are! We've heard a lot about you. Just don't relax, it's about to start. We'll give you the matching robes for this station and then I'll introduce you to Anthony Young, who will take you under his wing at first, you'll also be divided into the same shifts. By the way, my name is Jones, Margret Jones."

So the little healer babbled non-stop until they arrived in the locker room. There she shoved a pile of robes into his hand.

"Change quickly, you can take the empty locker down there on the right. Then come out and I'll take you to Mr. Young, who'll take care of everything else."

In the locker room, Draco quickly slipped into his new white robes decorated with red darts on the seams, chest, shoulders and back. "It makes me look like a ghost," he thought as he looked at his pale face in the mirror.

Quickly he took another sip of water from his bottle and locked his belongings in his new locker. Then he took a deep breath and stepped into the hallway with a determined and polite smile.

Next to healer Jones stood a tall man with broad shoulders and short brown hair. Unlike the Master healer, he wore the emblem of an advanced healer, only a few degrees above Draco, which calmed him down.

"So, Anthony, your new colleague, Draco Malfoy!"

It had not escaped the blonde man's attention that Anthony Young's face darkened briefly at the mention of his surname. But quickly the tall man put on a polite smile and the two shook hands.

And then it began right away. Draco didn't have a minute to catch his breath in the first three hours. In the emergency room all urgent cases first came together, witches and wizards were treated until they could be handed over to other wards or, in less dramatic cases, sent home. The emergency room was divided into a reception area and 6 small treatment rooms, each staffed with 2 healers working day and night shifts. At the back there was an operating room where urgent operations could be performed if it would have taken too long to send the patients to the appropriate ward.

Draco assisted Anthony all the time, but they didn't talk much to each other. At the end of his first shift, when the two sat in the dressing room, a little exhausted and eagerly drinking water, the blonde man felt that his counterpart was looking at him in mild disdain. That was enough for Draco. Already some time ago he had decided to no longer endure the eternal taunting and the pejorative glances.

"Listen, Anthony..." he started and bent forward a little.

The taller man raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"I know what you're thinking. I'm used to it already. Yes, I was a Death Eater and yes, I did some things I'm really not proud of. But now I am here. I have changed. And I finally want to show what I can do. I want to learn and heal and make my contribution and for that I need your support".

Anthony looked at him silently for a moment, then: "Are you really as good as Jenkins claims?

"Even better."

A big grin spread across the bearded face. "Well, welcome to the team, Draco."

A wave of relief streamed through Draco.

 ***

The next week went quite well. He had settled in a little, knew where everything was by now and got to know his other colleagues slowly. When he handed Anthony the right utensils on Wednesday before he had even asked for them, he was rewarded with an appreciative look.

"You learn fast, Blondie."

Draco grimaced at the nickname and then grinned. "Thank you!"

In the meantime he also knew a bit more about his colleague. Anthony was 31 years old and had attended a school in Canada. After graduating, he moved to Great Britain, where his mother's family originally came from to study healing. Now he had been at St. Mungo for almost 11 years and had of course witnessed Voldemort's rise and fall and the war very closely here in Great Britain. Also he was not unaware of the role the name Malfoy had played in the whole spectacle. Even though Draco didn't talk much about himself, he felt that he had convinced Anthony with his abilities and his polite manner that there was more in him than the former Death Eater and the son of a convicted criminal. They actually got along quite well. Anthony had a somewhat rude sense of humor that Draco didn't always like (and unfortunately settled with nickname "Blondie"), but he was a good healer and a patient teacher. Maybe they wouldn't become friends for life, but it was an advantage to be in a team with this energetic man. He complemented Draco's sensitivity and precision well.

 ***

When the young healer fetched a coffee in the lounge on Friday afternoon in a quiet moment and allowed himself two minutes of peace, he heard the loud laughter of the reception witch from the reception area.

"Oh Mr. Potter, it's always nice when you visit us!"

Draco choked and puffed into his coffee cup. That couldn't be true. He must have misheard himself. But unfortunately he knew the voice that answered far too well.

"Gladys, when I see you, I feel much better immediately!”

The deep cough that followed, however, belied his statement.

Draco didn't hear the rest of the conversation, so he didn't know what had happened or where Gladys sent Potter. But when Anthony shouted through the hallway only a minute later: “Hey, Blondie! Come on! There’s work to do”, the former Slytherin already had an unpleasant hunch.

And in fact, when Draco opened the door to their treatment room, he looked directly into a pair of very familiar green eyes. That was a good thing, because otherwise Draco almost wouldn't have recognized the former Gryffindor sitting on his treatment couch. His black hair was longer than ever and he had loosely tied it to a high bun. In addition, Draco had never seen Potter with a beard. But now his bronze skin was covered in a dark 2-week beard. The dark blue and golden uniform with the emblem of the aurors fitted very tight to his body. His chest had clearly become broader, his arms more muscular. Damn, he could have directly come out of one of those hipster magazines.

Harry Potter's eyes widened when he realised who was standing in front of him.

"Malfoy," he exclaimed in shock, coughing again pretty badly and grabbing his chest.

"Potter," Draco nodded barely through clenched teeth.

"Thought you'd know each other," Anthony remarked with a clearly curious undertone in his voice.

But neither of the two former Hogwarts students wanted to talk about their - how could you put it nicely? - tense relationship. They looked at each other suspiciously.

"You're still here?," asked the Auror.

Draco rolled his eyes. "You can see that, Potter. And I see that you still have a penchant to hurt yourself."

Anthony laughed: "Oh yes, he does in fact come here more often than I fancy. He may be a brilliant auror, but somehow he still manages to end up here in the emergency room over and over again."

"Of course he only comes to visit me," cooed Gladys, the elderly reception witch, cheerfully as she whooshed in that moment and brought Potter's file.

Potter winked at her. "You know I don't feel well if I don't nibble on your wonderful cookies at least once a month, Gladys."

The old witch blushed and giggled like a schoolgirl when she left the room again. Draco felt the urge to puke. Potter was still such an arrogant crawler with everyone lying at his feet."So, Mr. Potter, tell me," Anthony asked him. He sat down on the stool while Draco was still leaning against the wall near the door.

"Well, there's nothing much to tell," Harry started and rubbed his broad chest. "We had a chase with those goddamn dealers we've been searching for weeks. Suddenly they ran into an old building, me and my team right behind, the guys rush up to the attic, out to the roof, we're shooting curses back and forth. Suddenly it there’s a loud crack under my feet and I crash through the rotten ceiling and land on the lower floor on my back."

"Hmm," Anthony hummed and scribbled in the thick file. "And how long ago was that now?"

"Oh, maybe two and a half, three hours?"

Anthony and Draco both looked up and lifted an eyebrow.

"Well," Potter stammered and blushed slightly under his beard. "It actually went quite well. At least I think I managed to fix the broken rib by myself. I'm learning too, you know. But I think my lungs got something. Breathing is a bit difficult and hurts a lot". Again he coughed rattling and pressed his flat hand against his torso.

"And yet you still waited patiently until the end of work," Draco snarled mockingly. " Gee, Potter, that's so gryffindor of you. How noble..."

"Save your breath, Malfoy," Potter hissed back.

Anthony ignored the teasing between the two. "Anyway, take off your uniform so I can examine you better."

Draco watched the black haired man take off his robe and unbutton his shirt. A tanned, muscular chest was revealed, a light oval was visible in the middle of the smooth skin, where the Horcrux had burned in (of course Draco knew the story, he was not living behind the moon). The young Auror winced a little as he stretched his arms to strip the shirt and again Draco could not help the scornful commentary:

"Well, do you need help?"

"Shut up, _Blondie_!"

"Great idea", Anthony intervened now. "Draco, you take over from here and I'll go get a nice hot cuppa coffee." With these words he rose.

"What, but -" his young colleague stammered.

"Or do you think you can't do it?" Anthony shot back smugly and with a nasty grin on his face.

"Yes, of course I can, but -"

"Well, I'm gonna take a little break and be back in 15 minutes."

And suddenly the two former schoolmates were alone.

Draco sighed angrily, but Potter smiled crookedly.

"Well, then let's just get it over with, shall we," he murmured.

Draco nodded resignedly, collapsed on his stool and breathed deeply once to return to his usual professionalism.

"All right, Potter. You said you broke a rib. Which side?

"Left, but I fixed it already."

Draco mockingly raised an eyebrow. "Am I the healer here or are you?"

His patient rolled his eyes. With his stool Draco rolled to the other side of the stretcher to look at Potter's back. Involuntarily he whistled quietly through his teeth. Shocked at himself, he opened his eyes, what Potter of course couldn't see.

"What is it?", he asked sceptically.

Okay, Draco couldn't possibly tell the truth. He couldn't possibly say that he thought the sight of the defined, smooth back with an offensively attractive dragon tattoo on the right shoulder was absolutely hot.

The blonde cleared his throat. "Um, I was just admiring your bruises, especially here on the left ribs. Very nice pattern."

He only got an annoyed groan in response. Phew, lucky again.

Draco quickly performed a diagnostic spell on Potter's maltreated back, indicating that something was wrong with the left ribs and both lungs.

"Well, Potter, I don't know what you did, but one rib is still broken," the young healer remarked.

With trained and slender hands, he palpated the purple swollen side of his patient and gave a triumphant "Aha!" as Potter flinched and growled at the touch of his fifth rib.

"Yes, yes, _wonderful_. If you would kindly heal it?"

"All right, all right. Watch out, could slightly hurt. 1, 2, 3!“

With a soft crack the broken bone settled back again and Potter moaned softly. No, Draco certainly didn't shiver at that sound!

"So, and now the lungs. They got quite compressed at your fall. I will relieve them again. Just imagine it, like a somewhat limp balloon that you blow up again, yeah?"

Draco pushed himself around the couch on his stool again and looked into stunned green eyes. Only now he noticed that Potter had replaced this ugly glasses from his school days with a more modern one with a black frame and square lenses. He looked pretty good... Damn it, Draco! Pull yourself together!

Potter grumpled. "Uh, okay."

The idiot was still so daft.

"Try and take a deep breath."

Potter tried and promptly coughed again, his face disorted in pain. He pressed his hand against the freshly repaired rib and gasped in pain. Something was stirring in Draco's stomach. A tiny twinkle only... Was that... _Compassion_? Yuck.

"Try it again and when you've breathed in, you have to hold your breath. Then I'll relieve the pressure and widen the lungs again, okay?"

Potter nodded and closed his eyes in concentration. As his chest did not lift any further, but remained so, Draco casted his spell and saw with satisfaction that the tense face of the former Gryffindor loosened. Relieved, he let out the air again and puffed deeply once.

"Oh, much better!"

The black-haired man smiled and Merlin… that was the most beautiful smile Draco had seen in years.


	3. Poison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting tough...

**Poison**

 

The next time Draco saw the Auror, he didn't smile. On the contrary - he screamed in pain. It had been almost four weeks since he first showed up at Draco's emergency room. Meanwhile Draco had settled in completely on his new station. He and Anthony worked hand in hand and his colleagues appreciated him for his quick comprehension and overview in delicate situations. This was also the case that day. It was a Thursday evening shortly before 7 p.m.. Draco and his colleague Anthony had a shift during the day and were preparing their treatment room No. 4 for the transfer to the two colleagues of the evening shift. All four healers were chatting happily while rummaging through their rooms and the two young men told the two older healers about their day shift. The atmosphere was good. Draco liked most of his colleagues and was happy to work with such professional people and to learn so much from them.

Suddenly there was a heavy knock at the door and a nurse from the foyer stormed in.

"I need your help, he's about to scream the hospital down," the young woman shouted.

She had already hurried back outside and the four healers from treatment room No. 4 ran after her. They heard the hoarse, tortured screams from the waiting area. A deep male voice shouted and moaned apparently in agony. And Draco only needed to take one look at him and knew immediately who they were dealing with.

"Harry Potter," his colleague called out.

The dark-haired man kneeled on the floor with a chalk-like face and hunched trembling. He had his arms wrapped around his belly and cold sweat shimmered on his forehead. Draco immediately noticed that Potter was wearing jeans and a T-shirt and not his auror uniform, so nothing could have happened to him in combat this time, could it? It had to be a violent colic or appendicitis...

The four healers immediately rushed towards the young man and began their treatment. The most experienced colleague took command and gave instructions. Anthony got a stretcher and they let Harry float on it to better examine him in the treatment room.

"Miss Granger here reported that Mr. Potter's symptoms started when he ingested this juice," the nurse's voice sounded and Draco whirled around.

Only now had he noticed the brunette young witch in the blue blouse standing by the nurse wringing her hands. A blurred image of a small fist dashing towards his nose suddenly came to Draco's mind. He shook his head. While his three colleagues were taking care of Potter, he quickly turned to Hermine Granger.

"Granger! _What did he drink?_ "

Hermione, who wasn't at all surprised to see him here, or rather quick-witted enough to know it didn't matter now, pressed a plain glass bottle with a dark red, clear liquid into his hand.

"Here, I don't know what that is or where he got it from, but he probably thought it was cherry juice or something. He drank it and immediately fell over with terrible cramps and vomited," Granger reported furiously fast.

Draco sniffed at the bottle and immediately had a bad suspicion. It really smelled like cherry juice, that was obvious, but there was another note to be detected. And that was, by Merlin, anything but harmless. Draco turned on the heel and ran off.

"Stay here, I'll need you later," he shouted over his shoulder to Granger and had already stormed into treatment room No. 4.

He heard a choking and immediately saw the dark red, foamy vomit on the couch and on Potter's upper body. And then Draco knew what it was. His three colleagues were just trying to give the screaming and groaning auror venous access for a cramp-relieving and pain-relieving potion, but the black haired man trembled so terribly that they had trouble keeping his arm straight.

"Accio Bezoar," Draco shouted and caught the little black stone that flew out of one of the drawers with one hand.

"Hold him down," he yelled at his colleagues and was on Harry's stretcher with one movement.

The other three tried to keep the young man's tense limbs steady with physical strength, but he had developed bear strength in his agony and screamed his head off.

Draco sat on Potter's hip, one leg on each side and pinned his chest with his forearm to the stretcher. He didn't care that he was in contact with sweat and vomit. His colleagues each took one leg and both arms to keep the Auror calm. Draco himself grabbed Harry's bearded jaw with a firm hand and squeezed to open his mouth. A violent blow to the back almost knocked him forward as Potter tore one leg loose and tried to tear to his chest in his seizure.

"Fuck, Potter! _Hold still!_ ," Draco screamed in mild panic.

He had to stick this Bezoar in Harry's throat! Again he leaned on the Auror' s muscular chest, which was already soaked in sweat that and forcibly opened his jaw. With lightning speed Draco stuck the knobbly stone into his mouth and pressed the lips of the other man together again. At first nothing happened. Potter was still trembling and for a moment Draco was afraid he had done something wrong and made a mistake. But then under his body he noticed that the cramps of the dark-haired man subsided. Also the hoarse screaming became less and at the end he only whimpered softly, his eyes closed, his face still pale.

All four healers exhaled the air with relief. Draco released Potter's jaw from his fingers and dropped his head. He felt Anthony patting him on the back. "Awesome, Blondie! Well done!"

Draco was slightly ashamed to notice that he was still sitting on Potter's hip, pressing pelvis against pelvis and quickly climbing down.

"How did you know it was poison?" asked one of his colleagues. "At first I thought it was his appendix or something!

"Potter's friend brought this."

Draco nodded to the bottle on the table next to him and cleaned his robes of Potter's sweat and vomit with a flick of his wand. Anthony took the bottle and sniffed it.

"What's in there?," he asked the blonde.

"I'm relatively sure it was arsenic. It smells pretty characteristic and causes exactly the same symptoms as Potter had. Vomiting, cramps, cold sweats, circulatory failure... If he drank a little more, he would be dead now. I have to go to the lab and see if I'm right. Then I can brew him a matching antidote."

"So somebody wanted to kill him?," asked his colleague, shocked.

"Well, he is an Auror and hunts black wizards... So it's possible that they were after him", Anthony interjected.

"Don't give Potter anything against the pain. I don't know exactly how this will react with the antidote. Lay him on his side and keep him warm, the body temperature can drop quickly. I'll go to the lab and hopefully have a medicine for him in 10 minutes. Tell Granger to wait for me."

His colleagues nodded and got to work. Draco grabbed the bottle and hurried to the lab in the back of the ER. Skillfully, he examined the red liquid and quickly realized that he was absolutely right. After all, potions and poisonings were his passion! At the small but well-equipped brewing table in the corner he quickly made a suitable counter potion and was proud of himself. He, the young healer, had known it before anyone else! He had saved Harry Potter!

With the small vial he hurried back to treatment room No. 4. The other three had tidied up, removed the vomit and cleaned Potter's T-shirt. They had covered up the young man, who was now lying bent on his side and apparently unconscious.

"I told level 3 that we were going to take him straight to her ward. They'll take care of his poisoning."

Draco nodded. "Thank you, Anthony."

As before, he stretched Potter's head back and held his jaw apart with one hand. With the other he let the light blue liquid drip into his patient's mouth. With a cough and a snort and a confused look Harry Potter awoke suddenly and stared into Draco's relieved grinning face.

"Welcome back," he said smugly.

"Malfoy..." Potter whispered quietly and pressed his hands on his still aching stomach. "What happened?

"I was hoping you could tell us," the blonde replied.

"Can't remember..." His eyes were already closing again.

Draco rubbed his chin. "I think we can send him up to the ward. I'll try to find out what happened."

 ***

Hermine Granger was still waiting in the emergency room waiting area. She nervously kneaded her fingers and got up as soon as she saw Draco coming.

"Is everything okay with him? Did you cure him?" she asked worriedly.

Draco saw tears glistening in her brown eyes.

"It was very good that you brought this bottle with you. Otherwise I wouldn't have figured it out to be poison so fast. So I put a bezoar in his throat. Then he stopped cramping and screaming. And then I gave him the right antidote to the arsenic and they sent him up the third floor to the poisoning ward."

"So somebody poisoned him?"

Draco nodded. Granger stared at him in horror for a moment. Then she grabbed his hand.

"Thank you for saving him! Seriously..."

The blonde felt his cheeks blush and smiled slightly.

"It's just my job. But now you have to tell me what happened, right? Everything you know!

They sat next to each other on the benches in the waiting area. Draco let Potter's file fly to him and noted simultaneously everything Hermione told him.

"Well, Harry was free today and we were supposed to meet at his place for breakfast. I flooed to him and everything was normal. We went to the kitchen and he made me a tea. Then he said that a colleague had lent him a book, which I would certainly like, and he went into the living room to get it. He took forever, he's really a bit chaotic. So I quickly went to the toilet and when I came back, he was standing in the kitchen pouring himself a glass of that bottle I had given you. I'm a 100% sure the bottle wasn't on the kitchen counter before! He drank a sip and after a few seconds he collapsed screaming and cramping. He threw up and it was all red and then I grabbed him  and apparated here!"

"Hmm", Draco pondered and wrote the details neatly into his report. "Do you know where he got the bottle from?"

"I have no idea! Of course he didn't have a clue what was inside, otherwise he wouldn't have drunk it, would he? So I remember that the window in the kitchen was open... Maybe... Well, maybe he didn't get the bottle until the few minutes we both weren't in the kitchen per owl or something!

"And then he simply drinks something that suddenly appears in his apartment?" Draco asked mockingly. "I thought the man is an Auror. They are sceptical by nature and always on their guard!"

Granger thoughtfully wrinkled her forehead. "It could be that he thought I had brought him the juice. I usually bring him something I made myself. You know: jam, biscuits, cakes... Once I've brought him apple juice from apples from my parents' garden. It wouldn't be far-fetched to assume that he thought the bottle came from me."

"Okay, let's see what he says when he wakes up."

"Can I go to him? Oh heavens, I need to let Ron know..." Granger mumbled excitedly.

Draco suddenly thought of something. "What about the little Weasley-girl?"

"You mean Ginny?" Hermione seemed confused. "What about her?"

"Well," Draco mumbled hesitantly. "I thought they were a couple? Where was she when Potter was poisoned?"

The brunette witch laughed briefly. "But Harry and Ginny have been separated for over 3 years! Ginny is now with Luna Lovegood and Harry... it's none of your business, but Harry isn't only interested in women anymore..."

Hot blood shot through Draco's veins and he tried to keep his expressionless mask.

"That is, he is... he is..."

"Bisexual, yes." Hermione Granger gave him a long look. "I think I should check on him, don't I?"

 ***

Draco was still confused when he had sent Granger to the right ward and finally called it a day. So Harry Potter was bisexual. Why did that shock him so much? That he was gay himself hadn't been a big secret at Hogwarts. After all, he was able to live it out there, while at home he was beaten up by his father. He himself was least disturbed by "deviant" preferences. Then why did his cheeks turn red when he thought of Potter and another man? And why did this man have light blond hair in his fantasy? Draco shook his head angrily, said goodbye to Anthony and apparated home.

 ***

The next day at 8 a.m. there was a knock at the door of Treatment Room No. 4, as the two healers had just started working through the pile of paperwork on their desks. A small, plump man with a bushy grey beard stuck his head through the door. Draco immediately recognized the lime green robe and the golden badge on his chest. That was Edward Ferguson, the head healer of the department of poisoning by potions and poisonous plants! Draco's heart gave a jerk.

"Mr. Malfoy?"

The blonde healer leapt up. "Yes, Sir?"

Master healer Ferguson stepped into the room and smilingly approached the young man. "Congratulations, my boy. An excellent job you did yesterday with Mr. Potter!"

He shook Draco's hand, who was desperately trying not to jump up and down for joy.

"Thank you very much, Sir!"

"Very quick thinking and good usage of the bezoar! And your potion was really excellent! I was very excited when I examined the antidote this morning. Arsenic is a very special poison, not everyone would have figured it out so quickly."

Draco felt his cheeks blushing.

"If there's an opening up here, you' re the first person I'll think of."

"Thank you very much, Mr Ferguson. It would be a great pleasure to be able to work in your department."

"I think you' re also a great benefit to the ER. I congratulated your chief healer Jones directly on her recruitment. Such smart guys are always needed."

And with a friendly wink, he disappeared again.

Finally the broad grin made its way to the pale face.

"Oh, blondie, you smart little fellow," Anthony was already purring behind him.

"Shut up," Draco hissed back, but his voice somehow didn't want to sound as snarky as usual today.

 ***

In the afternoon the two got visitors again, who had nothing to do with a medical emergency. At a timid knock, a bushy brown head slid through the door.

"Granger?," Draco asked in surprise.

The young woman twisted her mouth. "Don't you think we're beyond the whole last name thing? I mean, after all, we're on the same side now, aren't we?

Actually, she was right. It was really silly and only unnecessarily kept up the enmities of school time.

The blonde healer sighed, "All right... Hermione. What can I do for you?" He pointed to the chair in front of the desk.

Now the brunette smiled and sat down. "Thank you. So I just wanted to tell you what Harry reported when he woke up."

"Oh, I'm listening! Did he come up with a good explanation why he chugs every liquid that shows up in his apartment?

Hermione narrowed her eyes, but passed over Draco's remark.

"It was actually as I had thought. He found the bottle on the kitchen counter, I was in the toilet, he thought I brought the juice, so he drank it."

Draco didn't know what to think. "But it must be a huge coincidence that it just fitted into the situation! So if you hadn't been there, Potter would never have drunk anything any owl have brought him, would he?

Hermione sighed, "I think so too. Either that was a really stupid and clumsy attempt or exactly the opposite and very long and extensively planned, which makes me much more afraid!

" What's the next step now?", Draco added.

"Harry's colleagues are investigating the case, but they don't have much hope of getting any clues about the sender. They found some feathers and see if they can get on with it."

There was an unpleasant pause in which the two former Hogwarts students looked to the floor.

Finally Draco took a heart. "I'm glad nothing worse has happened and Potter is back on track."

Hermione smiled quietly. When she said goodbye, she turned around at the door and said: "He sends his regards, by the way".

Draco felt his cheeks blush again.

 


	4. Panic and First Names

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you feel the angst? 'Cause I can feel it pumping through my veins now...
> 
>  
> 
> (Did you know, that angst is originally a german word? Thanks to my native language for all the pain we feel and the tears we shed... Germany, huh.. A country full of optimists...)

**Panic and First Names**

 

Six weeks had passed since Harry Potter's last visit to the ER. It was just half past three in the morning and Draco and Anthony were on duty. Actually it was supposed to be a quiet night. From experience, there was not much going on in the middle of the week, so the ward was only half staffed, but suddenly they heard a little tumult from the reception area. Several people were talking wildly across eachother and Draco didn't understand a single word. Then they heard Gladys calling their names, so that he and his colleague rushed into the corridor in front of the treatment rooms.

The first thing he saw was Potter in a half-torn uniform, who had swung his arm around a lanky, dark-skinned man and staggered back and forth.

"What happened to him?" Draco asked and had to stifle the sneering grin.

The other man, who introduced himself as Connor Benson, also an Auror and looking also a little wrecked, sighed impatiently.

"I don't know, he caught some curse and we don't know what it was! And more importantly -"

Suddenly Potter started shouting something in a hoarse voice. What was that? Draco couldn't understand a word.

"Yes, so he only speaks Italian...", Potter's colleague resignedly continued.

"Exuse me, _what_?" Draco laughed and Anthony also snorted in disbelief.

"Well then, come with me before he throws the whole ward into turmoil," the older healer hummed in surprise.

Draco quickly went to Potter's other side and slightly bent his knees to put Potter's arm over his shoulders. He felt the warm body hanging close to his own and smelled a tangy perfume (which he liked far too much).

While the two men dragged Potter more than he walked himself, the black-haired Auror constantly babbled something in Italian and whimpered softly.

"And you don't know what curse it was?," Anthony asked the dark-skinned auror-colleague and held the door open for the trio.

"I don't know, the Russians we're on have some funny tricks in store. They are really dangerous to the public safety and stop at nothing. We had just arrested four of them when a fifth, whom we had not seen before, fired a curse. I couldn't stupefy him until he had hit Harry. A purple lightning hit him on the chest and he collapsed immediately. When he woke up again, he was completely confused and frightened and then the Italian was bubbling out of him. He's also shaking all the time," Potter's auror colleague reported.

"Does he still understand what we are saying?" Draco asked curiously, while Anthony scribbled diligently into the file. The blonde healer tried to catch Potter's gaze, who they had dropped on the stretcher in the meantime. With a dull gaze he swayed slightly back and forth and mumbled incessantly.

"We haven't tried it yet," Benson grumbled. "I was glad we got him here at all! Do you think he'll be all right?", he turned to the two healers with concern.

"Well, we'll see," Anthony sighed a little helplessly.

Meanwhile Draco let himself sink onto the stool in front of Potter and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Potter, hey, Potter! Can you hear me?"

He shook him slightly, but got no answer. The dark-haired head was still shifting unsteadily from right to left, uttering something like a frightened whimper.

Draco laid one of his cool hands on the young man's bearded cheek. "Harry, look at me."

The green eyes of the Auror flickered to Draco's face. A shiver went through him. _Had he really just called Potter by his first name?_ Well, at least it seemed to have helped.

"Harry, look at me. Can you hear me?," he firmly asked.

At first the other remained silent, but then he nodded: "Si!" In the meantime he had calmed down a bit and had stopped whimpering.

"Do you know where you are?" Draco asked further.

"St. Mungo" was the quiet answer.

"Well, great," Anthony called. "So he does understand us. And apparently the confusion is slowly diminishing if he still knows where he is."

"Okay, Harry. You're doing great," Draco continued calmly, trying to be professional. "Do you know who I am?"

Potter blinked twice, then he breathed "Draco."

The blonde felt his cheeks getting hot. Damn, had Potter just called _him_ by his first name?!

"Um, yes," he stammered with a red head. "Very good, Harry."

"What are we going to do with him now," Anthony thought. "I think I'll call down one of the colleagues from the curse damage department, maybe they've seen something like this before."

He took his wand from his robes to send up a memo. At that moment Draco, still sitting across from Potter, noticed a strange tremor running through the other man.

The black haired man uttered a panic whimper and stared at the wand in Anthony's hand with his eyes widened in horror.

"Potter, what is it?," Draco asked in surprise.

The Auror gave no answer, but began to tremble more and more. His shaking hand pointed towards Anthony and he gasped heavily. Something scared him terribly. He screamed as Draco touched his knee.

"Hey, Harry! It's all right, stay calm," the blonde tried to persuade him.

The trembling became more and more violent. Now he grabbed his head with a moan, pressing his palms against his forehead and throwing his head back. His whole body began to twitch and he rolled his eyes upwards.

"Fuck, he's having a seizure," Anthony remarked.

The two healers were already on their feet. Anthony prepared a quick calming potion, while Draco stayed with Harry. He tried to calm him down and listen to his vital signs at the same time. Everything was routine and professional, every move was perfect and in the end Anthony and Draco had managed to sedate the black-haired man. Harry's breathing was flat, his eyes flickering back and forth. His lips moved slightly.

"Shut up, I think he's trying to say something," Draco hushed the other two.

A soft whisper came out of the young man's mouth. Draco bent down closer, so close that the other's breath tickled his ear.

"Draco... Draco... please!" Harry's voice was just a hoarse croak, his big hand groping for the front of Draco's shirt.

"What is it, Harry? What should I do? What happened to you?"

Draco was really queasy. What had happened to Harry that he was so scared? At least now he spoke English to them again, which they could probably book as progress.

"My head...I don't want that! Please stop..." the Auror groaned and closed his eyes in agony.

The blonde healer straightened up again and wiped his face. What the hell had happened? Potter had apparently caught some bizarre curse. Draco believed that this Italian thing was just a strange side effect. The real problem had been the panic attack at the sight of a wand. He also seemed to have hallucinations. What did these... Russians, Benson said? What had they planted in his head, what had triggered such a reaction?

 Draco could certainly understand what it was like when the fear was eating you up, when you had pure panic and just wanted to scream. Yes, he knew that feeling, that Potter, no… _Harry_ … displayed, very well.

"We should give him something for a dreamless sleep and then just check on him again when he wakes up," the former Slytherin suggested.

"At least the Italian is gone", grumbled the Auror Benson, relieved. Until then he had watched helplessly as his colleague was treated. "Should I just come back tomorrow?"

" You do that, Benson," Anthony agreed, "it's almost morning and there's nothing more you can do here. We will certainly get your colleague back on track!"

But the Auror was emotionally in a bad condition. He was a nervous wreck and still so anxious that Draco had to send Anthony to get the sleeping potion (which was actually his specialty), because Harry whimpered and trembled even more when the blonde man got up or otherwise moved away from him.

"No, Draco... please... stay here! Draco, please don't go..." he muttered incessantly and tried to cling to his robe.

Again and again the black-haired man pressed his hands on his ears or eyes, as if to lock something out, but what only he could see or hear. Draco tried to calm the trembling man with a soft voice. He didn't even think of what had happened between them at the moment. About the fact that they had been enemies since day 1 and hated each other. As I said, Draco had changed and now he didn't care about all those old feuds and rivalries. He had already broken so much in his life with blind hatred for others. He was just tired of it.

They decided that Harry should take the potion here in the E.R. and take him to the ward afterwards as it seemed impossible in his condition to move him out of this room. The two healers didn't want to risk another seizure. After endless persuasion from Draco, Harry finally swallowed the potion and one minute later he slept soundly.

 ***

The young healer let the sleeping man float on a mobile stretcher and pushed him through the many hallways and corridors to the ward for curse damage. Draco didn't know why, but somehow he felt he had to take care of Harry himself. How he had clung to him earlier... As if (of all things) _he_ had been Harry's only salvation. Draco pushed this strange tingling, which now spread to his stomach, aside. Surely he had not eaten enough again.

Arriving at the station, of all people, he ran into Katherine, the obtrusive witch of his class. She had apparently ended up on this ward after her training. Smiling and swaying her red-brown hair, she walked towards him. The young man had to make every effort not to roll his eyes.

"Draco, how nice to see you," she was already fluteing at a volume that was completely inappropriate at night in a hospital ward.

The blonde looked down briefly, but his patient was still fast asleep.

"I'm bringing Harry... _Potter_ upstairs. He was struck by an unknown curse that caused seizures and panic attacks," he told her in a matter-of-fact tone. "Do you have a room for him?"

"Harry Potter? Wow!" With unconcealed curiosity, Katherine looked more closely at the man on the stretcher. "Well, that's a treat..."

A spark of anger stirred in Draco. This woman was really unbelievable. It was a miracle that she had passed her exams!

" First of all we gave him a sleeping potion, maybe he will recover by himself. Otherwise you'll have to see how he is tomorrow. Maybe one of the mind healers has to come."

"Well, we'll get him pepped up again," Katherine boasted.

She led Draco, who was still pushing Harry in front of him, into a small free room along the corridor and handed him the obligatory paperwork. The blonde Slytherin sighed in relief as a bell rang and a patient from another room demanded Katherine's attention.

So Draco let the young Auror float on the fresh bed. He hesitated, then he took off his shoes. Harry would surely sleep for a while, then he really didn't have to lie unnecessarily uncomfortable. Actually, patients who couldn't do it themselves were made ready for bed by the nurses and healers in the internship. But it was the middle of the night and the wards were not fully staffed anymore. With a wave of the wand he let Harry float a hand's width over the bed. Draco's slender fingers moved towards Harry's upper body almost by themselves. A little shaky, he shoved the cape of his uniform from the black-haired man's broad shoulders. Then he opened the buttons of his shirt and took it off carefully but routinely. A tight white T-shirt now covered the well-trained chest and Draco noticed to his own horror that he licked his lips involuntarily. But there was nothing to it, was there? He had done that thousands of times during his training... Only the patients he had undressed so far had not been his former enemies from school - _and not so damn handsome_.

Draco took a deep breath, then opened the button and zipper of the tight cloth pants with the golden stripes on the side, which was in the same royal blue as the top and cape of the uniform. He pulled on the soft fabric, gradually exposing trained bronze legs with curly dark hair. Draco simply could not prevent his fingers from touching the naked, warm skin and he shuddered at the touch. "Damn it, pull yourself together," he admonished himself, sharply sucking in the air as his gaze fell on the tight black shorts the next moment. What he saw there didn't seem to be very small, even when asleep. Fuck, Malfoy, what's the matter with you? He tore his gaze away, ignored the beginning tension in his groin and let Harry sink back onto the soft mattress and slide the blanket over him. The former Gryffindor sighed softly in his sleep and turned to his side. Draco growled inside as his prick twitched at the sound. Carefully the young healer took off Harry's now crooked glasses and laid them on the bedside table. With a long index finger he gently stroked the temple of the other. The Auror made another small sigh. _Shit_ , that's it! That's enough now!

Draco hurried out of the room with his paperwork and withdrew to the nurse's room to be on the safe side. Luckily it was soon the end of work.


	5. Is he serious?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally something to justify the rating... You were so patient with me, thank you guys... :D
> 
> If you want, you can leave a small comment! It's my first fic in english and it would mean the world to me ♥

**Is he serious?!**

 

At 6 o'clock in the morning Draco left the St. Mungo and apparated home. A little weary, he unlocked the door to his small apartment. Last week had been exhausting. Every night he and Anthony had been on duty and so he was all the more looking forward to the day off tomorrow. He neatly put his shoes on the shelf and hung the grey cashmere coat on the wardrobe. He decided to take a hot shower before he went to bed. Last night had knocked him out. This strange curse that hit Potter... Hopefully he would be better tomorrow. He knew that he really shouldn't care. That it was none of his business. Normally his work was done as soon as he had transferred a patient to another ward and finished the paperwork, but somehow it was different now.

In his bedroom Draco slipped out of his clothes and threw them into the laundry basket next to the dark wardrobe. Naked as he was, he stretched his sinewy muscles a little. He really had to do more sports again. He had neglected that a bit in the last weeks. Believe it or not, Draco Malfoy had discovered _yoga_ shortly after his discharge from Azkaban. At that time he was a nervous wreck, needed something that could restore his maltreated body and his depressive mind. He loved this mixture of strength, balance and body awareness. It calmed him down and was the perfect balance to the stressful work in St. Mungo. It also had the nice side effect that his agility, flexibility and body tension had improved considerably. And he loved the slim, lean body shape with the long, finely defined muscles that yoga gave him.

So Draco took a shower and sighed with relief as the hot water ran down his body. Suddenly he remembered that just a few hours ago he had heard a similar sound coming out of Potter's mouth. And again his penis rewarded him with the same reaction, it twitched slightly.

"Draco Malfoy! Do you actually have the self-control of a 12-year-old," he scolded himself as his hand set off on its own.

He stroked his smooth chest, his flat stomach with its many fine scars until his fingers touched the arch of his now semi-erected dick. Pictures of Potter, no Harry, appeared before his inner eye. The tanned skin, the trained upper body, the flexing muscles under this dragon tattoo and what was showing through his shorts. Draco gasped slightly as he felt that he was now getting really hard. His fingers glided briefly over the shiny glans and then pulled his hand away.

If he had been told 10 years ago that he would be in the shower today masturbating to images of his school enemy, he would have declared him crazy. The old Malfoy would probably have jinxed them for this insolence. But now Draco stood under the hot, splashing water and tried to turn off his pushy penis. A voice pierced his head saying he was nuts and it was absolutely ridiculous and needy when he jerked off on two little encounters with Harry, no _Potter_ , damn it.

And yet his cock strained so hard between his legs that he could no longer ignore it. Again he grabbed his bobbing erection and moaned softly as he took it in his hand and slowly began to stroke it up and down.

"Fuck it," he gasped. He had worked a lot and had been under a lot of stress, he deserved to relax a bit.

With faster movements, Draco's breath also got faster. With his left forearm he leaned against the cool tiles in front of him and allowed the water to warm his back, while he sighed and groaned slightly. Finally he felt something hot building up inside him, rushing through his veins, stunning him, and with a loud groan he came into his own hand.

Oh, that felt good. He deepened the intense feeling a little as he massaged his swollen balls with his free hand and his right hand was still running up and down his dripping cock. Once again Draco noticed how much he loved this feeling. He was certainly not prudish. Repeatedly, especially during his apprenticeship, he had spent almost every weekend in muggle clubs in London, picking up guys. He had enjoyed performing differently every evening. Sometimes he played shyly and naively, sometimes dominant and demanding. And every time he got what he wanted at that moment. And that was mostly hard, dirty and just hot. For Draco it didn't really make any difference whether he fucked or was fucked. The most important thing was that he felt this bittersweet feeling of the overwhelming lust rising in his lower stomach, and he reached the climax.

Lately he hadn't been able to go out as much because of his new position. And so he had had to help himself from time to time with his own hand - and with the vibrator lying in his bedside drawer. A small stubborn voice in the back of his head kept telling him that these constant one-night stands and the occasional (or frequent) masturbation were not adequate substitutes for closeness and love and could not fill the void Draco felt from time to time. But it was fun anyway.

The blonde man washed himself and slipped naked into his cool sheets afterwards. The exhaustion from work, the hot shower and the relaxation that orgasm had brought him - all this made him fall asleep quickly.

 ***

The next morning Draco woke up with a huge boner. The last remains of his dream were just rushing through his slender body. Draco could dimly remember strong brown hands and long black hair. He moaned slightly as he stretched out extensively and noticed goose bumps running down his back. What was wrong with him? He hadn't been as horny as yesterday and today for a long time! That couldn't have anything to do with a certain guy with a lightning scar, could it? Again Draco's thoughts wandered to the muscular brown chest and the flashing green eyes and his hand crept to his rock-hard arousal. Hadn't the jerking yesterday satisfied him enough? Why did he have to fantasize about Potter again? Well then maybe today in a different way. Determined the young healer turned around and reached into the small drawer of his bedside table. He snatched out the expensive lubricant and the slim, black, slightly curved vibrator. His cock twitched again in light anticipation of the extremely pleasant feeling that it would give him in a minute. He turned back to the other side and moistened his right hand fingers with the cool gel. He sighed as he circled a finger over his rim and penetrated gently. The blonde bent his back a little to push his hand lower into the velvety heat. His pale chest raised and lowered quickly as he added a second finger and also pushed it into his tight hole. A satisfied groan left his slightly open lips as he hit his prostate and felt everything clenching around him. Faster and faster Draco fingered his wet entrance, stroking his prostate with each thrust. His moaning became more hectic and he had to control himself not coming right away. He pulled his fingers out of his now widened hole and lubricated the vibrator with some gel.

He set it on a low level and glided over his bulging balls and gasped excitedly as he let the vibrator's tip glide over his glans. A few drops of white already poured out and Draco threw his head back as he grabbed his hard shaft with the other hand and pumped briefly. The vibrator now slipped through his pale cheeks and Draco turned on his stomach with his legs wide apart to ease access.

"Ooohh!" he moaned loudly as the buzzing stick slid into its moist hole and set his inside into vibration. Draco Malfoy was definitely not quiet in bed. And it didn't matter if he was with someone or satisfying himself. These noises made him just incredibly horny. Best if they came from someone else, but even his own lustful sounds aroused him immensely.

Draco's moaning grew louder as he pressed against this little bundle of nerves up his ass and twitched his hip forward. Quickly he increased the vibrations to a fast and violent rhythm and exhaled a deep growl as the feeling roared like electric shocks through his now sweat-covered body. He turned on his back again and pressed his butt against the mattress to drill the stick even deeper. The noises escaping his mouth increased into a hoarse scream, always to the beat of the buzzing against his already aroused prostate. His hands clawed into the sheets, he bent his back, drilled his heels into the bed and gasped and screamed loudly until he couldn't stand it any longer.

"Oh God, fuck, yes!"

He just had to come now. He _needed_ to! His trembling hand reached for his cock and with only 2, 3 fast pumping movements he fell over the edge and moaned his orgasm out off his lungs. His legs trembled as hot cum shot at his pale chest and the vibrator still twitched in his ass and provoked his over-excited body even more. Draco lasted a few more seconds, then he pulled the vibrator out of his ass with a deep groan. He gasped for air, tried to calm his hammering heart and let the aftershocks of his grandiose orgasm ripple through him.

 ***

His eyes fell on the alarm clock on the nightstand. He hadn't slept long, it was just half past midday, but he felt _so_ good. The sun shone softly through the dark curtains and Draco cleaned himself and the bed quickly with a flick of his wand. After a short shower, he prepared himself a cup of coffee and some toast and tomatoes, and read a few articles in the daily prophet that the post-owl had brought to his windowsill in the morning.

Then he cleaned up a little and did some paperwork. The house elves used to do the work in the Manor, which was very comfortable, of course, but Draco had to admit that he didn't miss it much. His apartment in the suburbs of London was small and easy to keep clean. He paid it from his salary and had paid for the furniture from his savings and a generous heir from a distant relative. He had decorated it simple and modern, with lots of dark wood and light fabrics, just the way he liked it. He was fed up with the eternal pomp and kitsch of Malfoy Manor.

Draco made himself another cup of coffee, black and strong, and took it to the small balcony, where hardly anything fitted except a chair and a small bistro table. His thoughts drifted back to Potter. How did he do? Did his colleagues at the curse ward manage to get him fixed?

The young healer convinced himself that his interest in the case was _of course_ only professional curiosity, thank you very much. He would simply like to know how it all had turned out. Draco growled angrily and annoyed about himself and drew his arms to his chest, shivering in a fresh breeze. The spring sun was already shining, but the wind in April was still cold. He found shelter at his desk and tried to study the new book about antidotes, which he had bought last week, but he simply couldn't do it. He was too unfocused and felt absent-minded.

After starting the same sentence for the fifth time, he closed the book with a bang, grabbed his coat and left the apartment. A few minutes later he stood in front of the staff entrance, a door invisible to Muggles, and entered St. Mungo.

With long steps he was on the fourth floor. God knows he had no intention of staying long. He spoke to the first healer he met in the hallway. Draco knew her only by sight. She smiled slightly when she heard who he was asking about.

"Harry Potter? He's doing all right. I heard he made quite a fuss down in the ER, the poor boy. Up here this morning he also had a little panic attack, but we were able to calm him down again."

"And do you know what hit him? I'm – uh, I’m just curious because, frankly, we were a little bit confused!"

"I think it was supposed to trigger exactly like it did. Disable the Auror for some time, demoralize and eliminate him. The Italian thing you wrote in the file was certainly just a stupid coincidence. But the panic attacks were real. I think he can go home tomorrow morning. When he can go back to work is the other question. He's still pretty whacked out."

Draco nodded thoughtfully. He had thought something like that. Again he felt this subtle hint of pity rising in his stomach.

"Do you want to check on him?"

The voice of the healer only reached his mind slowly. By then she had already guided him to a room, misinterpreting his continuous nodding from before.

The former Slytherin now stood a bit perplexed in front of the white door to Potter's room. _How did he get here?_ Well… Once he took a breath, he knocked short and hard and entered.

Potter was still lying in the bed Draco had taken him to the night before. He looked up in surprise as he saw the blonde and lifted his eyebrow.

"Malfoy?! What are you doing here?"

A not unfamiliar voice made Draco look into the other corner of the room.

Ron Weasley, the freckled face still as bland and banal as ever, leaned against the wall next to the window.

"Weasley, I could ask you the same thing," Draco snarled.

"I happen to visit my best friend, who is apparently not well, you idiot," Weasley countered derogatorily.

"And that's exactly why I visit my patient," Draco replied snappishly.

He tried to ignore the staring gaze of the redhead, stepped to the white bed and looked into the unusually pale face of his former opponent.

"How are you, Potter?" he asked quietly.

"But he's not your patient at all!”

Before Harry could answer, Weasley's annoying voice started again. Draco rolled his eyes.

"It's true," the idiot behind him sounded. "That's not your ward, that's none of your business here. You don't even wear a robe! And you are just good enough for the _emergency room_!"

And he spat the words at Draco as if it was a disgrace to work there. The blonde felt anger rising in his stomach, felt red spots forming on his chest. With a swing he turned around and drilled his long index finger into Weasley's chest.

"Watch it, _weasel_! First, you wouldn't survive 10 minutes in the emergency room and second, you don't have to interfere when I do my job, which I'm _brilliant_ at, by the way!

Weasley snorted with indignation.

"And third, it is Potter's decision whether or not I treat him!"

"Ha, he wouldn't even let you treat him if his life depended on you," the redhead growled angrily.

Well, _if he knew_ , the blonde thought spiteful. Draco turned back to Potter... Harry... and looked at him expectantly. The dark-haired man had listened silently. He seemed almost too weak to interfere. He looked at his big hands in his lap, which trembled slightly.

"You can go, Malfoy. We'll be fine," he muttered quietly, avoiding carefully raising his gaze.

"What? But -," Draco started astonished.

"You heard it, Malfoy," Weasley shouted. "Make sure you get out!"

The blonde healer stared at the man in bed for a while, his mouth open, then he closed his jaw, grinding his teeth and lifted his chin.

"Just as he pleases," he pressed out between trembling lips and rushed out.

 ***

He didn't stop, he couldn't be stopped until he stood in his apartment again.

"Is he serious?" he shouted loudly into his empty living room. "Is he fucking serious?!"

Angrily he grabbed his coffee cup from the dining table and threw it against the wall, where it burst into a thousand pieces.

"Fuck, what an asshole!"

He kicked against the back of his sofa and gasped as he felt the stabbing pain in his toe. Growling, he jumped around on one leg until the throbbing had subsided. Then he dropped onto the next chair and stared angrily at the ceiling. Harry, _no Potter_ , couldn't be serious! Such an _ungrateful, arrogant son of a bitch_! And what about "Please, Draco stay with me. Don't leave me alone"??? He had clung to his shirt in search of help, had trusted only him, had sought shelter and peace and quiet in Draco’s presence and now he didn't even look at him and sent him away?

Well, Draco thought, then Potter had bad luck. He really thought something had changed between them. In the moment Draco hadn't betrayed him to the Dark Lord in the Manor. In the moment Potter had rescued him from the fiendfyre. In the moment Draco's mother lied to the Dark Lord, protecting the chosen one. In the moment Draco had no longer taken Voldemort's side.

He had patched him up three times now, but apparently Potter's gratitude wasn't long in coming. If he showed up for a fourth time in the ER, Draco decided to pass it on to a colleague. It was impossible for him to work professionally as angry as he was at the moment.

That damn stubborn voice in the back of his head, wondering why he was reacting so violently, the blonde just tried to blend out. Potter just knew how to push his buttons, how to get his old rival on the the edge of a tantrum. So he hadn't changed. Draco felt something like regret flooding his stomach and immediately decided to drink a glass of wine even though it was only 4 pm.

Yoga! Yoga and wine would calm his nerves. He poured himself half a glass of chilled Chardonnay and changed his tight cloth trousers and his button-up shirt to a yoga leggings and a soft T-shirt. Routinely he went through his exercises, bent himself, breathed, stretched his back, balanced, relaxed, sweated - and occasionally sipped on his glass.

Draco sensed how good it was for him. His upset heart calmed down and his anger finally ebbed away as he ended his routine with a ten-minute meditation. As the blonde lifted his slender body from the mat again, he reassured himself in a calm voice that Potter was an idiot and he hopefully wouldn't see him again so soon in the emergency room.


	6. Home visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recap: Harry Potter is an idiot and Draco didn't want to see him again in the E.R.
> 
> But... Let's see what's next :D

**Home visit**

 

And that was true. Draco didn't see Potter in the E.R. next time - but standing in front of his door. Three days had passed since the night of the panic attacks and Draco was cooking his dinner. He had spent a somewhat hectic 10-hour shift in the E.R., had gone grocery shopping and now wanted to reward himself with a good meal. Fresh salmon was on a board for seasoning, vegetables roasted in a pan and in a small pot Draco had prepared the white wine dill sauce he loved so much. One might wonder why a rich boy, who always had everything precooked by house elves, was so enthusiastic and also good in the kitchen. The fact is that cooking and yoga have a lot in common. Routine, skills, movements, breathing, relaxing, pleasing the soul. And so after Azkaban Draco had discovered that he was a true natural talent in the kitchen!

The turntable was playing quietly from the living room and Draco was stirring in the pan when the doorbell rang. Annoyed, he rolled his eyes, he had been looking forward to a quiet evening. To be on the safe side he turned the stove down, he had to get rid of the unannounced visit quickly, but his good food shouldn't burn on him!

With a few steps of his long legs he was at the front door, opened - and immediately closed it again with a bang. Potter! Why was Harry Potter standing outside his door?

It rang again.

"Malfoy, come on," called Potter's dark voice. "Open the damn door."

Draco didn't move. He stared at the knob, which he was still holding. This guy was really an outrage, by Salazar! Just to show up at his place like that... Where did he get his address from?

"What do you want?" Draco shouted gruffly through the door.

"Talk to you! Would you _please_ open the door?"

Draco's heart made a small leap at the almost gentle "please" that came over Potter's lips.

"Merlin, you are a pain in the ass!" The blonde swung the door open and stopped in the door frame. "And you look pretty shitty," he remarked.

Even in the dim light that came out of his apartment, Draco could see the dark rings under Potter's eyes.

He grimaced and raised his chin. "Charming as ever. May I come in?"

With a roll of his eyes Draco stepped aside and allowed his unannounced visit in.

"Go into the kitchen on the left," he instructed him.

"Oh, it smells good here, though," the black-haired man remarked.

"Save the small talk, Potter, and sit down."

The two men sat across from each other at the kitchen table. They could hardly have looked more different. One was long and slender with neat light blond hair and bright skin, his long fingers interlocked and his back stretched; the other smaller and more muscular with tangled black streaks and a bronze complexion, sunken on his chair, his head lowered.

"I’m all ears?" Draco's usual snarling had become surprisingly gentle at the sight of the man in front of him.

He saw Potter bite his full lower lip and wrinkle his forehead.

"I wanted to apologize to you," he finally muttered quietly.

"Oh, you've had a hard time with that now”, Draco teased.

"Would you just shut up and listen to me?" Potter hissed at him.

Draco raised his hands defensively and gestured him to continue.

"I'm sorry that I sent you away. Especially after everything you had done for me. I know for a fact that you saved me with the bezoar and your antidote. And I also know exactly how you were there for me in my panic attacks and hallucinations."

Potter's ears turned red and Draco looked at him startled.

"You... so you can remember everything from that night?" he asked and thought with horror about how he had undressed Potter... Harry... and stroked his cheek!

"Well, until you gave me the potion to sleep. All I know is that I woke up sometime in a hospital room."

Phew! Lucky me...

"And why did you send me away then?" Draco asked and hoped that his voice sounded as cold and indifferent as he had planned. But he wasn't sure if he succeeded.

"I don't know either. Ron was there and he jumped at you and in front of him I just couldn't admit how much you really helped me.” He grimaced and looked Draco in the eye now. "That was childish of me. I have to apologize to you. And thank you.”

The blonde stared into the other' s bright green eyes and frowned slightly.

"You don't know what was going on in my head that night..." the young Auror muttered shamefully.

"Then tell me." The words had left Draco's mouth before he could stop them. Merlin, what had got into him? Why did he offer Potter to pour out his heart?

Harry looked at him in amazement.

Draco sighed deeply and ran his hand through his fair hair, "We both know what it's like to be scared – scared to death. And I know exactly what it's like when you can't tell anyone, when there's nobody there to listen to you... Well..." He let the word float vaguely in the room.

Harry looked Draco in the eye and nodded. "You've been through a lot, too." His voice was quiet and rough.

Draco lifted his chin. "Yes, just like you. And we're still there, aren't we?"

A soft smile played around Harry's full lips and he rubbed his bearded chin. "You're probably right."

They remained silent for a while and Draco was already thinking that Harry would never tell him, when the black-haired guy took a deep breath: "It was an absolutely disgusting feeling. I was clear on one side, I knew I was in St. Mungo and everything, but somehow the other half of my brain was gone. I had these seizures with terrible hallucinations and visions. It was almost worse than back then, you know, at the battle."

Draco nodded.

"I hallucinated that all the people I love would be tortured and tormented until they finally turned against me because Voldemort convinced them that I was to blame for their suffering. And I saw all of their dead or injured bodies, screaming for help."

Harry rubbed his face with both hands as if trying to erase the memory.

"And then you were there," he continued in a low voice. "You were in front of me and I could see you clearly with a, don’t know, with a part of my brain. I noticed that you touched my cheek." Harry placed his own hand in the same spot. "And I clung to it because it was the only thing that kept me from going crazy. You know, your hand and your eyes…"

Draco's heart was beating way too fast.

"And how are you now?" Draco asked quietly. The compassion that spread in his stomach made him dizzy.

Harry laughed bitterly and shrugged his shoulders. "You said yourself, I look like shit. I haven't slept in three days. It's okay during the day, but it still comes back at night." Lost in thought he rubbed his upper arm. "But I think it’s getting better."

"Why don't you take a sleeping potion?"

"I don't think much of taking medicine all the time." Harry chuckled briefly when he saw Draco rolling his eyes.

The two young men sat opposite each other for a while. Suddenly the black-haired man cleared his throat and ripped Draco out of his thoughts.

"Well, I better be going. I really didn't want to disturb you. I just wanted to apologize to you and thank you for your help, Draco."

There it was again! _Draco_! He had called him by his first name - and this time his brain wasn't full of panic and delusions.

The young healer bit his lower lip and finally pulled himself together. "If you have no plans, you can stay for dinner." He shrugged his shoulder towards the stove, where his culinary skills had meanwhile become cold. "I can do some more. That is, only if you like."

Oh boy, Draco! That was a _stupid_ idea! A stupid, stupid, stupid idea! How did you come up with the idea of inviting Harry Potter of all people to dinner?

A smile, a real, honest smile spread over Harry's face and showed his white teeth in his dark beard. "That would be nice."

And Draco's heart made a little hop.

 ***

Draco had poured them both a glass of white wine and now stood with his back to the table at the stove and continued cooking. He felt a tingling sensation in his neck, felt Harry's gaze resting on him.

"The wine is good," the Auror finally broke the silence. "I'd rather drink beer, but it's really delicious."

Draco rolled his eyes and turned to Harry at the kitchen table.

"This is a 2012 Gris Pinot Grigio, of course it's _delicious_."

Harry grinned and Draco felt it lurching in his stomach. "If you say so..."

"Is there anything I can do to help?", the former Gryffindor asked when Draco slipped the spiced salmon into the pan.

Draco described where he had which dishes and shortly afterwards the two school enemies sat opposite at the set kitchen table.

Draco was almost done with his second glass of wine by now and he felt himself calming down. Maybe it wasn't such a stupid idea after all. The blonde raised his glass and looked in Harry's sparkling eyes. How could they be so incredibly green?

"I would like to make a toast," Draco said smilingly and felt slightly tipsy.

Harry also raised his almost empty glass.

"And to what?" the Auror asked and a cheeky sparkle twitched in his eyes.

"Yeah, I have no idea..." Draco mumbled in shame and Harry laughed. Somehow he hadn't thought that far.

"How about that: to the cook of this certainly very tasty meal," the black-haired man suggested.

Grinning, Draco clinked his glass against the other.

They ate together and talked, at first a little tense and awkward, but after a while (and a little more wine) more and more relaxed. Draco quickly realized that they both avoided sensitive issues. Most of all they talked about their respective work and the young healer was pleased to notice that Harry seemed really interested. And the end of dinner the entire bottle of his favorite white wine was empty.

It had got dark outside and the two men had moved into the living room with two glasses of fire whiskey. Draco had lit the logs in the small fireplace and sat down in his corner of the couch, while Harry had sat down in the armchair, which stood at right angles to the dark grey sofa. Draco was comfortable, the food had been good, the fireplace was burning and the wine and liquor were warming him from the inside. He noticed that he was a bit drunk, but it didn't matter... In fact, it was just very cozy. Yawning, he pulled up his legs and looked into the flames.

Harry had crossed his legs and put his elbow on the armrest. Tiredly, he had supported his head on his hand. One could clearly see that he hadn't slept much the last few nights.

"Thank you for taking me in tonight." Draco heard that the deep voice was a little sluggish. "I really needed a little distraction."

The blonde smiled. "And what better distraction could there be than to have dinner with your ex-enemy," he mocked in a soft voice.

Harry thoughtfully turned the glass in his hands.

"Can I ask you a question?" Draco started.

Green eyes looked at him expectantly.

"Why aren't you at Hermione’s or Weasley’s?"

Harry was silent at first, then something seemed to strike him. "Since when do you call Hermione by her first name?," he asked in surprise.

"Since I rescued you and we realized that we were on the same side for good... And don't distract me. I asked you a question."

The black haired sighed. "I don't know either. We may have gone through the worst of all time together, but I'm starting to feel like I'm annoying them. I don't want to burden them so much with my problems anymore. They've really done enough for me already. Don't get me wrong, Hermione and Ron are my best friends and they would do anything for me, but sometimes..."

Harry made a vague movement with his hand and somehow Draco understood what he meant.

"Anyway I only came to you because I wanted to apologize for my behavior the other day. The invitation was your idea," he added with a little grin.

"Just watch out, otherwise I'll regret it," Draco warned and smiled back.

Again the two men looked silently into the flames.

"But actually I think it's quite nice," the blonde added in a small voice.

Despite the dim light he could see Harry's cheeks turning red and a smile curling on his lips.

 ***

Draco didn't know what time it was. The alcohol and the stressful shift in St. Mungo had made him sleepy and he must have dozed off on the couch. The soothing crackle from the fireplace was all he could hear on the edge of his consciousness just before he dived into deeper spheres.

Suddenly a loud scream woke him. Draco startled as if bitten by a huge tarantula and puffed out a wheeze. The fire in the fireplace was almost extinguished, only a faint glow illuminated the room, but Draco saw exactly what had awakened him. Or rather, who. Harry sat crouched in the large armchair, whimpering and moaning. His whole body trembled with fear and he had his muscular arms crossed in front of his chest.

In one jump Draco was on his feet, kneeling in front of the chair. He grabbed the young Auror by the shoulders and shook him.

"Harry, hey, wake up! Everything is fine, it's just a dream..."

But the black-haired man didn't react. He still whimpered quietly.

Draco took the bearded face in both hands and felt the cold sweat of fear.

"Harry, come on. It’s okay, you don't need to be afraid. It's just a dream, a bad dream."

In a flash the collapsed body straightened up and with a gasp Harry opened his eyes at the same time and in panic he looked back and forth with wide eyes.

Draco breathed a sigh of relief. "It's alright, Harry. Don't worry..."

Shivering, the black haired man let the air out of his lungs and let his head sink back into Draco's hands. The blonde was shocked to see tears spilling from the closed eyes of the other.

"Shh, you don't have to cry." In a soft voice Draco talked to Harry and with his thumbs he wiped away the wet marks on his cheeks. Compassion flooded his stomach and he felt a small sting in his heart. "It's all over."

Harry nodded shakily. Then he exhaustedly dropped his head back onto the headrest and stared at the ceiling. "I'm so sick of these nightmares," he growled annoyed. "As if the usual ones weren't enough. After this strange spell they have become even worse."

Draco took the strong, tanned hands in his and pulled the black haired one up on his feet. Silently he pulled the smaller man towards him and put his arms around him. Just a second later he felt two muscular arms snaking around his middle and Harry laying his head on Draco's shoulder. The blonde felt the warmth and the fast heartbeat of the other. With slow movements he stroked the wide back of the former Gryffindor until his breath had calmed down again.

Harry sighed, "You must really think I'm a wimp..."

"I don't," Draco mumbled into his black hair. "I don't know how many times at night I've wished someone was there to comfort me."

He felt that his cheeks were a little flushed when he thought about the intimate details he was talking about, but whatever. If anyone could understand, it was Harry.

A little wistfully Draco released the embrace. Harry's body against his had just felt good.

"I'd suggest you sleep here, right? I doubt you want to go home alone now."

"I cannot accept that, Draco. You've already done more than enough for me."

"Come on, Harry. Don't make a fuss. You can't be alone in this state."

The smaller man looked at him from big green eyes. "You called me Harry," he breathed.

"Um, yes." Ashamed Draco rubbed his neck. "That's your name, isn't it? And besides, it's not the first time."

"No, the first time was in St. Mungo when you got me out of a panic attack."

"You call me Draco, too," countered the blonde.

Harry looked as if he had just noticed it for the first time. "Oh, right... So... we're like, um... like friends now?," he asked quietly.

Draco looked down into those beautiful eyes. "I think it would be nice if we could manage to be friends," he replied honestly and saw relief streaming through Harry's face. That nasty little voice in the back of his head, shouting to him that he might want more than just to be Harry's _friend_ , he quickly pushed aside.

"And now that we're friends, I certainly won't leave you alone," Draco smiled.

Harry rubbed his tired face and finally seemed to back down. "All right. But I sleep on the couch!"

 ***

Draco had given his guest a fresh toothbrush and a towel and led him to the bathroom while he covered the couch and laid out the second bedding from his wide double bed. Only in briefs and T-shirt Harry came out of the bathroom again and the blonde healer had to pull himself together not to stare at his lap.

"Draco, thank you for everything. I have to say, you've really changed."

Draco's heart again made a small hop out of time and he quickly covered his red cheeks with a scornful grin. "That's just the alcohol talking, Potter! Don't get used to it!"

Harry laughed what made Draco's stomach twitch and stuck out his tongue.

The blonde got serious again. "If anything is going on, you can always come to me, yeah? And now I really have to sleep, it's quite late."

The young Auror settled down on the sofa and Draco quickly slipped into the bath and then into his bedroom. Merlin, he was tired. It was already half past one in the night and tomorrow he had to be at work again at 9 o'clock. He undressed, slightly stumbling, but stopped at his underpants. Should anything happen during the night, at least he didn't want to be naked. He got into bed yawning and let himself sink into the soft pillows. He had just pulled the blanket up to his chin, when he had already fallen asleep.

Draco woke up way too soon when something touched his arm. He jerked up and his hand twitched to his wand on the bedside table.

"Fuck, what's wrong?," he shouted in a hoarse voice and blinked into the darkness.

A little light fell from the hallway into the bedroom and Draco recognized the broad-shouldered figure in front of him.

"Can I... can I perhaps sleep here," Harry asked in a choked voice.

Draco sat up and switched on the lamp on the bedside table. The alcohol was still running through his veins and he rubbed his eyes. The young Auror stood in front of him like a picture of misery and trembled slightly in the coolness of the room. He looked quite unfamiliar without glasses and with the loose hair that reached over his shoulders in dark curls.

"Oh shit... Yes, come in."

With a spell the healer fetched pillows and blankets from the couch. In the meantime Harry had climbed into his bed and curled up on his side. Draco shoved the pillow under his head and spread the blanket over him.

"Could you perhaps do that again?" The question came almost shyly out of the blanket.

Draco frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The thing with the hug."

Draco's heart beat almost out of his chest as he lifted Harry's blanket and moved closer. The smaller man lifted his head and his long black hair tickled Draco's naked arm as he slipped it between his neck and mattress. He felt Harry's big hand on his own ribs and moved his slender fingers onto Harry's back at the same time. Harry now lay a little lower than himself and placed his face against Draco's naked chest. He felt the soft hair of the black beard tickle his skin and hoped that his racing heart would not betray him.

"Do you want to talk?," Draco asked quietly.

He felt Harry shake his head. "No. It wasn't as bad as before. But somehow... I didn't want to be alone."

"It's all right, I told you you could come if there was anything up."

"When do you have to get up?" asked the black haired man and raised his gaze a little.

His face was now so close to Draco's that he could feel the other man's breath on his lips.

Draco swallowed and whispered: "At 8am, but don't worry about me".

In the strip of faint light still falling in from the hallway, Draco could see Harry making a distressed grimace.

"Oh, Merlin, that's in 4 hours! I am so sorry. I really didn't want to be a burden to you! I can... I can also go back to the living room again. Or back home..."

"Potter, shut the fuck up." The words were much softer than Draco had ever said them and before he knew what was happening he felt soft, full lips on his own.

Shocked, he opened his eyes and stared into equally surprised green eyes in front of him. Wait, hadn't Harry moved first? _Who had actually kissed whom here?_ Simultaneously they pulled away and blinked in amazement.

"I'm sorry!," both said with one voice.

Draco laughed quietly. Unexpected courage rushed through him.

"Shall I be honest?" he muttered.

His nose tip touched Harry’s.

"I'm not sorry."

And with these words he closed his eyes and leaned forward. Immediately he felt the beard on his chin and directly after a pair of _incredibly_ soft lips. Carefully he moved his mouth. A feeling of happiness flowed through him as he noticed how his kiss was reciprocated. The kiss was slow and gentle and so absolutely _innocent_ that Draco's heart almost stopped. A tingling and crackling seemed to run through all his veins and the blood was rushing in his ears. They didn't move or make any noise, as if they both felt how fragile the whole thing was between them. After what felt like an eternity, perhaps just a few seconds, Harry detached his lips from Dracos and, with his eyes still closed, leaned his forehead against the blonde's.

"Draco, you really have to sleep now," whispered the black haired man and Draco knew he was right.

He nodded. He couldn't say anything, his brain was paralyzed, his hands still stuck to Harry's back and his heart was thumping like mad.

"Will you stay with me?" Harry whispered and Draco could only nod again.

The smaller man turned in his arms and pressed his back against Draco's upper body. Carefully the blonde buried his nose in the black hair and took a deep breath of this enchanting scent to calm down.

"Good night, Harry."


	7. Then do it...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end is near... It's been a bumpy ride and I'm so grateful for each of you who read it and left Kudos or a Comment below :)
> 
> Feel free to tell me everything you think about it :D
> 
> Lots of love ♥

**Then do it...**

 

When Draco woke up, he couldn't move. His half-sleeping brain tried hard to figure out what had happened? Why did he feel so heavy and warm? A moment later he noticed that there seemed to be something half on top of him burying his right side. Blinking he opened his eyes and looked down at a sea of long black curls. The memories of last night stormed onto Draco like a tornado. They had kissed! He and Harry Potter had kissed! And it had been, by Merlin, so wonderful. Now the boy who survived was lying in his arms, his head on his shoulder and his right arm and right leg wrapped around Draco. The blonde man's heart began to beat quickly again. And it almost tripped over when he took a look at the alarm clock on his bedside table: 8:45am. He had to be at work in fifteen minutes!

Carefully he tried to squirm out of Harry's grip and slipped smoothly under his arm and leg and hurried into the bathroom. While he was quickly freshening up (there was no time for a shower), he quietly dictated to a quill and a leaf of parchment a message for the sleeping man in his bed.

 

_Good morning, Harry,_

_Sorry about my quick disappearance, but I woke up very late and had to leave right away._ _Besides, I wanted to let you sleep a little bit in view of your last nights. Please feel at home, you can make yourself coffee or tea and plunder the fridge! I hope to be home around 7 pm. Then we can talk about last night._

_I hope to see you later!_

_Draco_

 

After the quill had written the last sentence, Draco grabbed the piece of parchment and quietly opened the bedroom door again. Gentle light came through the thick curtains and Draco saw Harry lying on his stomach, his arms wrapped around the blanket and his head buried in Draco's pillow. Draco stepped closer to the bed. The former Gryffindor looked really beautiful, as peaceful and relaxed as he hadn't seen him in a long time. The long hair fell into his forehead and Draco carefully stroked a strand behind his ear. Harry sighed briefly, but didn't move. He had to be really exhausted. And Draco was glad to see that he apparently got some sleep here.

The healer placed his message next to Harry on the mattress, stroked the black-haired man's head again with a feather-light touch and then hurriedly left the house.

***

When Draco came home in the evening quite exhausted and wanted to open the door, he hesitated. With the key in his hand, he stopped in front of his apartment door and bit his lower lip. What if Harry wasn't there? If he regretted everything? The food, the conversations, _the kiss?_ Draco's fingers trembled slightly as he put the key into the lock and unlocked it. It was quiet. No sound was heard. He went into the living room - empty. He went into the kitchen. Only a rinsed cup on the draining board of the sink indicated that someone had been there at all. Otherwise no sign of Harry.

A strange mixture of disappointment, sadness and shame gathered in Draco. What had he done? He had scared him off. For Draco it had felt so... so right last night... so right and real like nothing in his life for a long time. But apparently not for Harry.

Draco wiped sadly over the wet corners of his eyes and went into the bedroom to undress. Now he urgently needed a hot shower. Carelessly he walked past the unmade bed and pulled his shirt over his head. With a rustling sound he threw it into the laundry basket.

"Draco?"

The sound of a sleepy voice made the blonde startle He whirled around.

" _Harry?!_ "

A head with tangled black hair peeked out of the pillows and blankets and Draco was suddenly relieved and laughed briefly.

"Fuck, you scared me. I thought you were... I didn't even see you!"

"You thought I left, didn't you?" the young Auror asked with a crooked grin.

"Well, um... I didn't _hope_ so..." Draco rubbed his neck and let himself sink to the edge of the bed. "Have you slept until now?"

Harry laughed quietly and sat closer cross-legged. He no longer wore a T-shirt, so Draco had an unobstructed view of tanned abdominal muscles as Harry tied up his black hair. Fuck, he looked damn good.

"Not quite, I woke up at 10 am or so and read your message. I'm really sorry I kept you awake so long yesterday, by the way."

"So I have to say, otherwise men keep me awake in my bed in other ways," Draco threw in hastily and just couldn't stop looking at Harry's manbun!

The black haired man raised an eyebrow and his left corner of his mouth raised. Was Draco mistaken or did the other man let his gaze wander over his upper body just as he did over him? But Harry's light smile suddenly collapsed.

"You-your... your skin..."

Draco looked down at his chest and knew what Harry meant. He had got used to it long ago and had come to terms with it in the meantime, although they were a painful memento of his past, which he wanted to leave behind forever. But Harry saw these scars for the first time. Although it had been him who had inflicted them in a flooded girls' toilet in 6th grade. Fine white lines were drawn all over Draco's upper body and shimmered slightly in the light.

"Shit," Harry mumbled and stared at the light skin in horror. "Shit Draco, I never wanted that! I'm sorry! I never would have -" He broke off and looked at the blonde man with desperate eyes.

Draco reached out one arm and put his slender hand on Harry's forearm. The skin was still warm from sleep and somehow an electric crackling seemed to emanate from the touch.

"I know you didn't want that..." he said quietly. "I know that, Harry."

A damp sparkle appeared in the large emeralds.

Trembling, the black-haired man took a deep breath. "I am so sorry..."

"I know. It's been a long time..."

"Can you forgive me?" Harry's voice was nothing more than a weak whisper.

He reached out a trembling finger and cautiously stroked over one of the lines running over Draco's costal arch. Goose bumps shot through the blond man.

"C'mere," he whispered back and opened his arms.

Harry moved closer and let Draco pull him into a hug. Draco stroked his hair and inhaled the fresh smell of shampoo.

"I forgave you years ago, Harry."

He felt the Auror hastily rubbing his eyes. They sat there for a short while, arm in arm. When they released, both smiled slightly.

Draco cleared his throat. "I think you were about to explain why you were lying half-naked in my bed again."

Harry grinned a little and Draco's stomach jolted.

The blonde man told him to proceed quickly with a hand gesture. "I'm all ears."

"So I read your message. I stayed a little bit longer and made myself some tea afterwards. Then I briefly went home and showered and changed. And since I didn't know where to go or what to do anyway, I came back here. But I was still so exhausted that I went to bed again. I don't know why, but I didn't even wake up once in your bed, it was really great!"

Draco had to smile when he heard how happy and rested Harry sounded.

"You look much better already. Listen, I'd like to shower. I really need a hot shower now! Have you eaten anything today?"

Harry shook his head.

"Okay, then I'll make us a little something and maybe... maybe we can talk a bit?" His stomach suddenly felt very weak.

But Harry smiled slightly. "All right."

 ***

The shower was incredibly good. Draco certainly stood motionless under the hot water jet for 5 minutes and washed away the day and the tension. He washed himself and ignored his somehow semi-rigid penis. In front of the mirror he shaved the fine blond stubble on his chin with a spell and creamed his sensitive skin. In the evening he liked to let his hair air dry, so he just rubbed it a little with the towel. He walked into the bedroom with the towel around his hip, but it was empty. Draco could hear quiet noises from the kitchen. He quickly put on fresh trousers and a tight black long-sleeved shirt and went barefoot into the kitchen.

Harry stood at the stove in jeans and a dark blue T-shirt. He turned when he heard the kitchen door.

"There you are! I hope it was okay that I started already, I didn't know what you wanted to cook, but I wanted to return yesterday's favor".

Draco stared at him for a moment, surprised, then he laughed briefly.

"You can cook?," he asked incredulously.

Harry pouted way to cute. "I could ask you the same! After all, you grew up with house elves, while I had to cook every evening for my relatives - and that already at the age of 5".

"You're right, I understand. That is, you are good?"

"You have to be good if you don't want to be beaten up every night," Harry returned in an undertone of bitterness.

He turned back to the pots and Draco felt his cheeks turn red.

" _Shit_ , I' m sorry... I didn't know..."

"It's okay." The black haired man sighed and turned around again. "Where are your spices?"

While Harry inspected the spice drawer and seasoned his food, Draco set the table. He couldn't believe they had dinner together only once, it felt so familiar to stand in a good smelling kitchen and talk to Harry.

The curry Harry had cooked came from a recipe book of his grandmother's that he  found in Godric's Hollow. It tasted delicious, but Draco was somehow too nervous to eat more than a small plate of it.

"Harry, about last night..." the blonde started.

The young Auror opposite him put his water glass, from which he was about to drink, down again and looked straight into his eyes. His gaze was hard to read and Draco had to look aside quickly to avoid getting lost in this bright emerald green.

"I know maybe we were both a little bit drunk and you were sad and needed closeness and comfort..."

The black-haired man frowned. His eyes twinkled. "But...?" he asked and Draco thought he heard something like hope from his quiet voice.

"But I... so it was actually... for me at least..."

" Gee, Malfoy, now spit it out, will you?"

" _OKAY_! It was wonderful! It was amazing to kiss you and it felt so good and right and I want to do it again! Again and again and again!" The words were bubbling out of Draco breathlessly before he knew exactly what he had said.

"Then do it ..."

Damn it, when did Harry get up and stand in front of his chair? Draco looked up into the amusedly smiling face, saw the light pink of his cheeks creeping out under Harry's beard, saw the man in front of him biting his full lower lip.

Draco got up so quickly that his chair fell to the ground behind him, clattering. He threw himself at the smaller one and let their mouths crash against each other. Two hands clawed into the front of his shirt and Draco buried both hands in the black silky waves. Yesterday was nothing compared to today. The passion with which Harry pressed on him and hogged his lips and tongue took Draco's breath away. He gasped and dropped his head backwards and gave a slight groan as he felt Harry kissing his neck and sucking on the sensitive skin.

"Fuck," he exhaled.

He let Harry push him against the wall and both groaned simultaneously as their semi-hard erections touched through the fabric. Again they kissed breathlessly, their tongues wrestled and fought with each other. Draco shoved his hands under Harry's shirt and pulled it over his head. His hands felt warm strands of muscle that felt hard and soft at the same time. Harry also took off the blonde's shirt and threw it aside just as carelessly.

"Shit, you look hot," the black haired man muttered between the countless kisses he now scattered on Draco's upper body. Red swollen lips left a wet trail across the smooth chest and the slim belly and Draco's breath went faster and faster the deeper the other got.

"Harry, please..." he whimpered as the Auror stopped at the waistband of his trousers.

Warm hands drove over his bottom cheeks and kneaded them tight. Growling, Draco dug his hands back into the hair, the bun half falling apart in the meantime. He felt his zipper open and groaned in relief as pants and underpants were pulled down and his hard cock finally jumped outside.

With half-opened eyes Draco looked down. What he saw was absolutely divine. Harry Potter kneeled in front of him with dishevelled hair and naked torso, looking at his bobbing member with outrageous enthusiasm.

"Merlin, _yes_ ," Draco exhaled as the two full lips, which could kiss so well, lay around his glans and moved over the shaft up and down faster and faster. Draco's heart was pounding while he could only hear his own blood rushing in his veins and his loud moaning in the quiet apartment.

"Oh, God, yes! Harry, fuck... I'm..."

With a smacking noise Harry let the almost pulsating cock slide out of his mouth. No! Draco was so close... so fucking close!

He growled angrily. "Keep going!"

"Well I still have a small question...", came a cheeky voice from below.

"By all the gods, what?" Draco's knees trembled as he felt a sassy finger stroke light as a feather over his dripping glans.

"Top or bottom?" Harry grinned and licked away the drops of pleasure.

"Heavens, fuck me already," Draco exhaled moaning.

Harry hummed contentedly and nodded. With one hand he opened his own pants and pulled them down together with his boxer shorts. And as Draco had already suspected, his erection was huge! The other hand fumbled for the wand and he casted a little spell. Draco immediately spread his legs a little more as he felt slippery silky fingers searching the way back. He wanted more, he wanted everything!

Gently they rubbed over his rim and through his crack. Draco shivered with tension and lust. A slight electric shock went through him as a finger penetrated him. He moaned and slid down the wall a little and lowered himself even deeper onto the finger, which moved in a slow rhythm.

"More, please, more," the blonde gasped and threw his head back when a second finger joined him and pushed him hard. Quickly Harry's fingers fucked him and Draco clung to the shelf next to him, looking for support. It was incredible. He was so painfully hard and thick drops of pre-come trickled to the floor.

"Turn around," a deep lust filled voice said and Draco obeyed immediately. He leaned against the wall with his forearms and spread his legs wide apart.

"Aargh, fuck, yes," he screamed. Three fingers were now pushing into his wet hole and pushed deeper and deeper until they hit his prostate. Draco closed his eyes and screamed. With fast movements Harry widened Draco's tight hole, who almost lost its mind when he also noticed the black haired guy biting his butt tenderly.

Suddenly Harry had got up again and gasped excitedly. Still burying his fingers in Draco's ass, he pushed him by the back to the dining table, which he had freed from plates and glasses with a flick of his wand. A strong hand in Draco's neck pressed him down against the tabletop and Draco howled disappointed as the fingers were pulled out. But what he now felt against his widened hole was better - much better. Slowly a huge, rock-hard cock pushed into him. Draco had the feeling to tear, but at the same time he was more wanton than ever.

"Shit, nnghaa," he cursed and moaned.

"Everything okay?" Harry asked with a strained, worried voice and spreaded little kisses on Draco's bony spine. His big hands gently stroked the pale skin and soothed the blonde that he soon demanded more.

"Please Harry, I want to feel you."

The grip of the tanned fingers increased around Draco's hips as Harry withdrew almost completely and then thrusted deep into him again.

Pain became pleasure and Draco loved that moment when he forgot everything around him and could lose himself in the deep groan of the man behind him. It just felt incredible. Deep slow thrusts pressed Draco against the cool table top and rubbed his throbbing cock against the smooth wood again and again. Harry's hands on his back were strong and would certainly leave stains on his pale skin, but he didn't care.

"Merlin, Malfoy... You are so hot. Your tight wet hole feels so good. So good for me," growled Harry with clenched teeth.

Draco loved the sound of his voice and the naughty words he muttered against his back. Harry's thrusts got faster and kept hitting the little bundle of nerves in Draco's ass. It felt so good!

"Keep going! Yes! Yes! _YES_! I'm cooommmming..." Draco screamed and clung to the tabletop. He pushed his butt back, so that Harry hit his prostate even harder and after only three more deep shocks he spilled his cum on the table top with a husky scream.

Harry couldn't take it any more either. His legs almost buckled and he clawed his fingernails into Draco's side as he came in with a deep moan in the blonde.

Completely wrecked and sweaty, the two men collapsed on the tabletop. Draco heard the rapid breathing of the young auror and felt his heart racing against his ribs.

"Awesome," Harry puffed out.

Draco could only nod weakly.

"You're heavy," he complained mattly after a few seconds.

"Oh, excuse me..."

A shiver went through the two men as Harry pulled his semi-rigid cock out of Draco's hole. The black-haired man quickly cleaned both of them and the table with a sway of his wand before their legs gave way and they let themselves sink to the carpet side by side. Still a little breathless, they stared at each other.

Then Harry smiled slightly. "You're pretty."

Grinning, Draco stroked a sweaty strand from his forehead. "Oh, shut up, Potter."

"Are we back to last names then?" the former Gryffindor smiled and straightened his glasses again.

Draco carefully leaned against the wall and distorted his face as he felt his sore ass aching.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself," Harry said apologetically.

"Don't flatter yourself. You were just damn hard and big," Draco grumbled.

"Oh and I'm not supposed to be flattered?" Again a white grin appeared in the dark beard.

The blonde simply ignored this comment. "Do you want to take a shower?"

 ***

Soon they both stood in the spacious shower cubicle with shaky legs and let warm water run over their bodies. Draco enjoyed the closeness of the other. He ran his hands through Harry's thick hair and pressed a gentle kiss on his mouth. The Auror sighed softly and moved his lips against the Draco's. Tenderly caressing hands stroked over Draco's body, caressing the places they had touched so hard before. A pleasant shiver ran down his back.

"Harry, tell me...," the young healer murmured between two intense kisses.

"Hmm," the other hummed and nibbled on Draco's lower lip.

"Ah, uhng," slipped out of his parted lips. He quickly pushed Harry a few centimeters away, otherwise he couldn't concentrate at all. "What exactly was that for you?"

Those incredibly green eyes looked at him unfathomably.

Draco continued in a soft voice: "You know, if this was just a one-time thing for you, say it now. I don't feel like falling in love with you even more, just so you break my heart."

Draco's heart stopped. _Oh God_. What was that? With red cheeks the blonde looked to the ground. He felt so terribly exposed and vulnerable. What was he doing here? It was obvious that it was an exciting flirt for Harry and nothing more. Draco felt hot tears rise in his eyes and pinched his lips tightly.

"Draco, look at me..."

A finger lay under his pointed chin and gently lifted his head. Draco looked into this beautiful face and tensed his shoulders, getting ready for the inevitable rejection.

" _You fell in love with me?_ ," Harry asked in a soft voice.

Draco even hadn't admitted it to himself until that moment, but it had to be true. This tingling, that he had already felt at their first encounter in St. Mungo, had been so real and had not subsided since then. Draco swallowed once and nodded tightly. Now Harry could joke about it, he would go through this with his head held high.

"You know what the best decision I've made in the last few years has been?," Harry asked. His voice was deep and a little hoarse and a warm shiver ran down Draco's spine. "To come here last night, to you..."

The blonde blinked twice in disbelief.

"I can't even tell when I fell in love with you! For me it feels like my whole life. I have always fancied you. And then the war started and you saved my life - and I saved yours. I thought I would lose you after all and I really tried to forget you, but of course it didn't work with Ginny either. And then I saw you again in St. Mungo and that little flame that was still burning in me suddenly flared up like dragon fire".

Draco felt a warm hand on his cheek and drops on his face that he couldn't possibly tell if it was tears or water from the shower.

"Draco, I love you."

This feeling of happiness, rushing through Draco's veins as he pressed his lips firmly against Harry's, was so overwhelmingly beautiful that he never wanted to miss it again. He loved him? Never before had anyone said "I love you" to him... Stealthily the blonde healer wiped a tear out of his eyes and smiled at his counterpart.

"I know we only decided yesterday to be friends, but I would love to be _your_ friend. _Your boyfriend._ You know, with love and everything."  Harry's voice was soft as he pulled Draco's slender body into an intimate embrace.

"That sounds damn good," Draco replied quietly and kissed Harry's scar on his forehead. "And a little love I can really use right now."

 

 

 

THE END ♥

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope no one got caries because of all the sweetness and the fluff ;)
> 
> That's about it... I have another Drarry Fic (way more angsty) about these particular love-birds in line, but it will take a while to translate it... Would you like to read it?

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! [Comments] and [Kudos ♥] highly appreciated!


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